Oh, Lonely Bones
by tomhiddlest0ner
Summary: Eleanor Michaels has always just faded into the background, unseen by everyone at Beacon Hills high. But when a quiet, reserved Isaac Lahey stumbles into the cafe she works late nights at, a friendship will grow. But the closer Isaac and Ella become, the more danger she's in... and this girl has secrets of her own, too. Can Isaac save her in more ways than one? Isaac/OC.


**A.N: I really just love Isaac, okay? And he needs a lovely love interest... Provided by yours truly, of course. Please read and review!**

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**CHAPTER ONE: **

**HELLO, STRANGER**

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In the middle of nowhere, a small, quaint building sat with thin smoke billowing from a chimney, the wide windows across the front allowing a shallow light to spill out onto the pavement, wet with the drizzle that threatened to turn to more. The town of Beacon Hills was not a large one, homing only two high schools and a few small malls – that was all the teenagers there cared about, the malls and neighbouring schools that the students could fraternize with. Sighing heavily, Eleanor Michaels placed the plate she was washing underneath the sink beside the rest of the clean plates, finally done with her dishes for the night. Although she enjoyed the solitude, working the night shifts at _May-belle's Diner_ were always tedious and, during the winter nights, slightly scary.

A bang caught her attention, the ginger's head shooting up as her eyes widened, scanning the completely empty diner before she heaved a sigh. It was most likely nothing, since nothing interesting actually ever happened in this town. Pressing her lips together, the girl smoothed her black flared skirt. Her required uniform for this job was a baby pink button-up with a white collar and black bottoms, and Ella always wore the same black skirt with thin tights underneath, even in the winter months. She liked the look more feminine, she guessed. Licking her lips, the ginger grabbed a cloth and a bottle of spray, walking over to scrub the tables for a third time that night.

Her well-worn Doc Martens marked the floor as she walked, leaving her with more things to do before the next worker came at two-am to take over her shift. The girl glanced up at the clock, sighing as she saw it was only one am. _One more hour,_ she willed herself as she began scrubbing the tables. To fill the void of silence, Ella began singing softly, a song by _The Kooks_, her voice quiet in case someone came by, though the location of the diner and the time of night made that a very small possibility. _May-Belle's_ was located about a kilometre out of Beacon Hills and was usually home to truck-drivers or people vacationing or passing by the tiny town, as there was one road going to and away from the place. Surrounded by forest, it was a beautiful place to work. Well, during the day.

"See I notice nothing makes you shatter, no, no," Ella sung, her eyebrows furrowed as she scrubbed at the table with her cloth. "You're a lover of the wild and a joker of the heart, but are you mine?"

She was caught off-guard by someone clearing their throat and the girl jumped, blinking wildly before wiping her hands on the black apron tied around her waist. "Was that _the Kooks_?" the boy asked, raising his eyebrows. She bit her lip, looking slightly bashful as she nodded her head. Before her, a boy about her age stood, blue eyes wide as though he'd been the one caught in a private moment, curled blonde hair flattened against his forehead due to the light dribble of rain outside. What caught Ella's eye the most was the crimson blood running down his temple from a scratch on his hairline. Deep brown eyes widening in fear, Ella moved to go grab another cloth from behind the counter, putting it under the tap for a second before rushing over to him.

"Aw, jeez," she mumbled, unsure whether to tend to his wound or not. "You're bleeding," Eleanor said, furrowing her brow.

"Am I?" he questioned somewhat absently, reaching up a hand to touch his forehead. "Must have been an accident," he said, though Ella wasn't entirely convinced. She could have sworn she recognized this boy from somewhere, allowing herself a moment to study his features closely, admiring his pale skin and full, pink coloured lips before pulling her eyes away from him, embarrassed. "You're Eleanor, aren't you?"

The ginger glanced back up at him from the cloth in her hands, a frown on her features. "You know my name?" she asked, unused to being recognized by anyone out of school. She had few friends and though she admitted that was absolutely pathetic for someone her age, Ella didn't often worry about it. She focused on her education, focused on getting the hell out of Beacon Hills. Her mother wasn't around much and her father had relocated to San Francisco, though her parents were still together. He 'just needed time' to get his new business together, apparently. The blond boy nodded at her.

"I'm Isaac. I sit behind you in Economy," he mumbled, cheeks turning a warm red. Ella's eyes widened and she flushed with embarrassment again, covering her mouth.

"I knew I recognized you!" she exclaimed, sudden recognition crossing her features. The boy managed a weak smile. "Go, sit down, I'll get you something to eat and a warm drink," she said softly, nodding her head and directing him to the table she had just cleaned. Isaac did as he was told without protest, watching as the ginger disappeared behind the doors leading back into the kitchen. Soon, the smell of strong roasted coffee and pancakes filled his nose and when she re-appeared only to ask how he took his coffee, he blinked and made something he'd once someone order, having never had a cup of coffee in his life. But he didn't want to upset the girl – something about her made him want to smile though he couldn't bring himself to do it.

She was quite short with a thin, petite frame that only made her look smaller and a heart-shaped face surrounded by copper-coloured hair that fell around her face from her messy bun, curling gently around her features. With plump, pale pink lips and wide, deep brown eyes overshadowed by thick lashes, she was quite pretty. Isaac frowned as that thought crossed his mind, instead almost avoiding her eyes as she walked out, having forgotten about the cut on his face and taking a napkin from the dispenser in the centre of the table, dabbing his forehead with it. "Thanks," he murmured, eyes widening somewhat at the stack of pancakes she'd placed in front of him before setting a mug of steaming coffee beside the plate. She had made a coffee for herself, sitting across from him and chewing the inside of her cheek. Isaac stared at her, confused, and when Ella looked up, she blinked and open her mouth.

"I'm sorry, do you want to be alone?" she stuttered out, moving to rise from her chair. The blond across from her shook his head, fumbling for a moment before managing to spit out a 'no' before she sunk back into the leather chair, a sheepish smile on her features. "Okay," she mumbled, wrapping both hands around her coffee mug and staring down at it, eyebrows furrowed slightly. "So what happened to your face?" Ella asked, concerned and curious.

Isaac hesitated, frowning at her. "Must've run into a tree on the way here," he said, clearing his throat. It was obvious to Eleanor that he was lying, but the two had never spoken until now – she shouldn't have wondered what his situation was and she definitely shouldn't have actually worried about this boy. But his puppy-dog eyes were irresistible, his lopsided, ginger grin was just adorable. Ella raised her cup to her lips, sipping gently at her coffee and raising an eyebrow at Isaac.

"Is your coffee okay?" she asked, noticing he'd barely sipped from it. Surprisingly, he quite liked the beverage, having always been under the impression that coffee was horrid. He nodded his head and smiled, slightly more genuine than the rest. Eleanor noticed, but said nothing as the boy picked at his food. "What brings you all the way down here so late?" she asked him, the clock ticking to almost one-thirty in the morning. He looked as though he wasn't sure how to answer that question, stumbling over his words before just mumbling something along the lines of 'I just needed some air', which made Ella feel awkward.

"That's why I take shifts so late at night," she admitted, furrowing her eyebrows. "I prefer the solitude. It's nice, all the way out here."

"Don't you get scared?" Isaac asked her, and Eleanor just shrugged her shoulders.

"Sometimes, yeah."

"Why do you take such late shifts if you have school in the morning?"

Ella considered this, pressing her lips together in thought. "I just... this is the only time I get time to myself, save for the occasional late-nighters." She smiled wanly. "Like yourself," she added as an afterthought. He grinned slightly, opening his mouth to respond before a woman bursting through the door caused them both to look up. Wearing the same baby-pink shirt as Eleanor, Carol grinned and waved at the two teens. "Hey, Carol," Ella greeted, standing quickly and taking the dishes she and Isaac had made. "Sorry, I'll clean up and be out of your hair."

The tiny brunette woman shook her head, waving a hand in dismissal. "I got the dishes. You two go home now, you've got school tomorrow."

Smiling thinly, Ella looked to Isaac. "Do you want me to drive you home?" she asked, and he shook his head, clearing his throat as he gestured to his bike parked outside the diner.

"I'm okay," he said, and though the ginger looked unconvinced, she didn't press the matter. She didn't even know Isaac and wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable, though the idea of him biking home alone at 2am made her uneasy. She licked her lips and nodded a goodbye to her co-worker after grabbing her things, Isaac holding the door open for her though he didn't look her in the eye. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," the blond said so quietly, Ella wasn't even sure he'd spoken. She glanced back at him, smiling.

"Yeah. Tomorrow."


End file.
